Make a Fortune Selling to Women. Connie Podesta

has decided that you are the right person to do the job, she will probably do an about-face and get down to business. Let her take the lead. She’ll let you know when she is ready to start buying. You just concentrate on being personable, professional, and productive.

       #4: SHE WANTS TO BE PART OF THE PROCESS

      For most women, a purchase isn’t just a transaction in which she pays money for goods or services. It’s an ENTRY into a relationship—with you, your store, your product or service, and with your company. Because business is PERSONAL with women, if they choose your service, it’s often because they are comfortable supporting your business, representing your brand, or becoming part of the circle of your customers.

      Women are aware that their purchasing decisions reflect back on them and affect the world they live in; this is just part of the multifaceted approach women take to buying.

      Maybe it’s because of this awareness that women feel the need to take responsibility for their buying decisions—they don’t want to just walk in and buy something (“In and out,” a man might say). They want to weigh the options, learn the differences between them, and decide what’s best.

      They want the information that will help them make good decisions. Women hate to waste time making purchases they will regret, not use, or have to return later. They want to know what makes one brand or product better than another, or why you think one will be better, and whether it really is or not.

       In short, women want to be a part of the process and have a good interaction with the salesperson.

      Now don’t get me wrong—men want to be PART OF THE PROCESS too, but most salespeople wouldn’t dream of excluding a man from a conversation about his purchase. Again there is irony here. Men talk less in the average buying situation, ask fewer questions, and are more anxious to just leave and get on with it than women, yet men are generally included in each step of the process whether they want to be or not.

      Women—who tell their whole story, ask tons of questions, and have often done far more research on the product—can find themselves excluded from some conversations because the salesperson has decided that the information is too difficult, tedious, technical, or uninteresting to share with them.

      Beware of making assumptions about what a woman wants to know and learn about your product or service, because if she feels left out of the process, you will probably lose the sale.

      Being part of the process means more than just being engaged in all decisions and understanding the variables. It also means being heard, a point we are going to discuss a great deal throughout this book. It means that when a woman wants to explain why she wants something or how it needs to fit into her life, you listen, even if you think you already have the information you need. (If she’s still talking, there’s a good chance you can still learn something to your advantage about what she wants and why. Pay attention!)

       When she asks a question, answer it honestly, without getting irritated or impatient, and give her an answer that’s as complete as she needs.

      A great example of being excluded from the process is something that most of you can relate to. It happens to men and women equally, although for some reason, it doesn’t seem to bother men as much as it bothers women.